A nurse prepares a shot for Jonathan Halter as the German embassy begins its roll out of BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines for German expatriates at Beijing United Family hospital in Beijing, China January 5, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS)

The pandemic was likely in a "transition point" that continues to need careful management to "mitigate the potential negative consequences", the agency added in a statement.

It has been three years since the WHO first declared that COVID represented a global health emergency. More than 6.8 million people have died during the outbreak.

However, the advent of vaccines and treatments has changed the pandemic situation considerably since 2020, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said he hopes to see an end to the emergency this year, particularly if access to the counter-measures can be improved globally.